Yueminglou has an elegant name, but in fact it is just an ordinary teahouse in the city.
Sima Chang did not choose to stay at a well-known inn in Quzhou just to avoid being noticed.
Ji Wurui did what he said and returned to Yueming Tower in less than half an hour.
Wang Qi'an and Sima Chang were gathering in the room to discuss plans to return to Hangzhou.
He took the scalding hot tea from Wang Qi'an, moistened his throat, and then whispered:
"It turns out a major murder occurred in the city."
After a slight pause, he continued:
"The day before yesterday, the richest man in Quzhou, Zhu Dayou, had his family exterminated, and no one in his family, more than 30 people, was spared.
Yesterday, Shangguan Yun, his sworn brother with a similar net worth, suffered the same fate. There were no survivors in his family of more than 20 people. "
The two people frowned when they heard this. This was not only a murder case, but also a tragedy of annihilation.
What is the deep grudge between the murderer and the other party? Why is he so ruthless and ruthless, leaving no room for mercy?
"Zhu Dayou and Shangguan Yun are both prominent local figures. This matter has been reported to the imperial court, and the officials are greatly shocked. It is said that someone has been sent to take charge of the overall search."
"If so, the person coming is most likely Yang Xingling's junior brother, Xu Gongming with his fiery eyes."
Sima Chang was naturally familiar with the Dongyue court. For such a major murder, the person who came to take responsibility must be quite famous.
"In addition to killing people, did the murderer also plunder the property in the house?" Wang Qian asked.
Ji Wurui nodded and said:
"All the light and portable valuables in the house were looted. On the surface, it looks like robbery of wealth and murder."
"Zhu Dayou and Shangguan Yun, these two people have business dealings with my house, and I know them. They also have a sworn brother in the city named Xu Cheng. Although he is not as rich as them, he also has some net worth. I wonder if he has him. news?"
Sima Chang suddenly interrupted and asked.
Ji Wurui looked at Sima Chang in surprise, clapped his hands and praised:
"I was just about to say this, but Brother Sima didn't know what to say. He was right. Xu Cheng is safe and sound at the moment, but everyone is worried about whether he will become the next target."
"It is said that he has invited martial arts masters to sit in battle at his residence. In addition, the City Guards Department who received the report also sent a large number of officers and soldiers to ambush around his residence."
"So, everyone is also suspecting that the murderer may be targeting these three brothers." Wang Qi'an said.
"As far as I know, their brothers' martial arts are not weak, and it seems that the murderer is also an unusual bandit." Sima Chang said.
"Brother Sima, does he know their specific origins?" Wang Qian couldn't help but asked curiously, hearing that his words were still unfinished.
Sima Chang's expression suddenly became strange. He stood up and walked to the window, opened it and looked out for a while. Then he asked the two of them to come over, bent down and said carefully:
"There are rumors that the three of them were the personal guards who destroyed the small royal family. Later, they killed their master and defected. They divided his master's wealth and became rich."
After Sima Chang finished speaking, he stood up straight and returned to his normal state:
"They are not local nobles in Quzhou. They moved here only more than ten years ago. Why they chose this place is unknown."
"So Brother Sima suspected from the beginning that the murderer might be seeking revenge."
Ji Wurui suddenly realized why he suddenly asked about Xu Cheng just now.
"It seems that this possibility is extremely high! Although they themselves deserve the crime, everyone else in the house is innocent. We can't let them kill so indiscriminately, why don't we go to Xu Mansion tonight to join in the fun."
Wang Qian said.
"This matter is not difficult. Xu Cheng and I have met several times. If we come to help him outright, he may not be able to ask for it," Sima Chang said.
Xu Cheng was dressed in silk and satin clothes. He was about forty-six years old. He had a slightly bald forehead and dark eyes. He was probably worried a lot.
However, he is short, stocky and strong, and it is obvious at first sight that he is quite skilled.
When he saw Sima Chang and others coming, he was really overjoyed.
In order to avoid others' attention, Sima Jing was asked to stay in Yueming Tower, while the civil and military brothers stayed to protect her.
The clothes and makeup of the three people who came from Sima Chang had changed to some extent, and he also asked Xu Cheng to temporarily conceal his identity for him.
At this time, there were several martial arts figures with weapons in the hall. They seemed to have good martial arts skills. They were probably the masters Xu Cheng invited to help out.
"I wonder if Boss Xu has thought about who the murderer could be?" Sima Chang asked.
"My two sworn brothers usually do good deeds and have never heard of offending anyone. I didn't expect that they would suffer such a tragedy!" Xu Cheng shook his head and said sadly.
Seeing that they couldn't get anything out of the question, the three of them stopped talking and waited to see if the murderer would show up tonight.
But one night passed, and there was no movement at all in Xu Mansion.
The three of them returned to Yueming Tower without finding anything, Ji Wurui said:
"Could it be that the murderer knew that the Xu Mansion was heavily guarded and did not dare to come?"
They inquired and found out that other rich people's mansions in the city were not robbed last night.
After three days of such calm, just when everyone thought the murderer had fled Quzhou, another tragedy occurred.
The person who was killed was not Xu Cheng, but Chang Ting, a wealthy businessman who owned many gold and silver jewelry shops in the city.
With a "bang" sound, Wang Qian slapped his palm on the coffee table and said angrily:
"Another dozen lives were lost. If such a murderer cannot be brought to justice in time, I don't know how many innocent people will lose their lives."
Others were also shocked and angry.
"I want to go check it out at the scene. I wonder if Brother Sima can do anything?" Wang Qian said suddenly.
Sima Chang and Wang Qi'an came to Chang Mansion.
I saw people on both sides of the door, all talking about it.
There are many officers and soldiers guarding the gate, including those from the government office and the City Guards Department. Among them are two distinctive soldiers. They wear red cloaks on the outside, bright armor on the inside, and have horizontal swords at their waists. They are majestic.
"Why are the Shenjie Army from the imperial palace here?" Sima Chang said in surprise.
It turns out that the two men in red cloaks are the Shenjie Army of the East Vietnamese Forbidden Army.
The two of them went straight into it holding the waist badges of the City Guards Department.
The air was filled with the residual smell of blood, and many corpses had been covered with white cloths.
The two came to the inner hall and found many people gathered.
"Commander Fan!" Sima Chang couldn't help shouting when he saw a familiar figure.
Someone in the hall turned around when he heard the sound, and when he saw Sima Chang, he couldn't help but walk towards them quickly.
Wang Qi'an saw that this man also had a red cloak and golden armor, and knew that he was also a member of the Shenjie Army.
"Junior brother, why are you here?" The visitor glanced at Wang Qi'an and smiled at Sima Chang.
This man's name was Fan Liu, he was slightly older than Sima Chang, and he was already the deputy commander of the Shenjie Army.
He is also a disciple outside Sima Shouren's mansion, senior brother Sima Chang, but this matter has not been made public and not many people know about it.
This time, he was ordered by the emperor to arrest the murderer together with Xu Gongming, which shows that the King of Dongyue attached great importance to this case.
"Except for some guards in the mansion, the others are ordinary people who don't know martial arts. Most of them were killed by swords and other sharp weapons."
After Fan Liu knew the purpose of their visit, he led them into the hall while explaining.
The tables and chairs in the hall were broken and there were signs of a fight. Judging from their clothing, the four corpses lying down should be those of the three nursing staff and the owner of the house, Chang Ting.
